


Climbing the mountain (you at my side)

by oddegg



Series: X Company: First Platoon [2]
Category: Band of Brothers, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Crossover, Gen, World War II, oddegg has no will power
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-01
Updated: 2011-09-01
Packaged: 2017-10-23 07:42:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/247862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oddegg/pseuds/oddegg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the same prompt as 'Cold Foxholes, warm hearts' and set in the same Band of Mutants universe. Charles and Erik meet for the first time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Climbing the mountain (you at my side)

Charles meets Erik on his first day at Camp Toccoa.

Command of X Company during training will be split. It makes no sense to have a non-mutant directing how their little band should be using their powers, of course, and Charles is the one chosen for that particular pleasure and promoted to 1st Lieutenant.

He’s actually secretly convinced Colonel Sink picked his name at random out of a hat and when he first meets 2nd Lieutenant Erik Lehnsherr – the man who will eventually end up being his closest friend, his lover and the best company XO he could ever hope for – Charles is sure that’s what the other man is thinking too. He doesn’t need his telepathy; he can just read it in that handsome, high cheek-boned face.

Erik looks Charles up and down as he stands there a few steps into the officers’ barracks and then raises an eyebrow. “You’re kidding, right?”

Charles shuffles his feet a little, coughs and says diffidently “Although I’m not totally comfortable with the authoritarianism of the military system, I feel I should point out that I _do_ outrank you.”

A slyly amused smile creeps onto Erik’s face and he straightens into a position of attention with a crisp correctness that somehow manages to be insulting. The man is mocking him, Charles is sure of it. Erik says in a polite, formal tone “I apologise. What I meant to say was you’re kidding, right _sir_?”

Charles sighs inwardly. Yes, that’s definitely mocking.

All in all, it isn’t the most auspicious start to his first day of leadership.

*

Although training the recruits in the use of their powers and overall command of X Company falls to Charles, given that his army experience so far consists solely of the 17-week officer training course at Fort Benning the physical and military training of their unit is undertaken by the man also in charge of Company E.

(Of all the things he sees during his eventful military career, the one that still surprises Charles at the end of it is that First Lieutenant Herbert Sobel wasn’t killed by one of the X or Easy Company men. There were many, many moments when he was sure that Erik for one was going to choke the man with his own dog tags during their training.)

Running up Currahee at the head of his three-four columns, with Sobel haranguing them, Charles overhears Private Cassidy mutter to one of the two Summers brothers in the squad “Are we sure being a giant asshole isn’t his mutant power?”

He’d laugh if he didn’t think it would make his stitch worse. As it is he hears Sobel screaming about how pathetic they are from the sidelines and he finds a little extra energy from pure indignation. He straightens his back, lifts his head and calls out “We pull up on the risers!”

Charles can feel the sudden malicious glee from the men at his back as they raise their voices to join in. “We fall upon the grass!”

He manages a jaunty little salute as they all put on speed and passed the furious looking 1st Lieutenant. As they pound up the hill the cadence floats back down to him.

 _“So highdy highdy Christ almighty, who the hell are we? Zim zam, Goddamn, we're X-Men Company!”_

*

That night in their barrack room Charles can feel Erik watching him, the man’s consideration a low buzz of feeling at the back of his mind. He’s almost tempted to peek into the other’s thoughts so see what he’s mulling over (and so he can get a little more familiar with that curiously attractive mind, which shines like brightly polished steel to Charles) but he decides to wait.

He’s glad that he did when Erik suddenly clears his throat to catch his attention and, when Charles looks over, smiles at him and says “So… Charles. Shall we plan out how we’re going to train these boys up to fight our hated foe?”

The smile widens into a wicked grin as he adds “I refer, of course, to Lieutenant Sobel.”

Charles says, reprovingly “Erik, my friend… The man _is_ our superior. In technical terms at least.” But he’s grinning himself as he says it, and as he feels Erik’s warm amusement wash over him Charles thinks that perhaps this leadership role won’t be too bad after all.


End file.
